People · Japan
Koutaro Maeda (前田宏太朗)
2×2 · top 1.9% of 186,767 all-time · competing since August 2019 · 2019MAED01
Koutaro Maeda (前田宏太朗) has been competing for 7 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.43, set at Raha Open 2023, puts him in the top 1.9% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 21st in Japan. Until November 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 12 competitions since August 2019, he has put 357 official solves on the record across eleven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 59% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 35.87 in August 2019 to 7.72, a 78% improvement. Koutaro has entered twelve competitions, more competitions than 94% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 1.43 | 3.13 | top 1.9% | 21 / 1,021 | |
| 3×3 | 7.72 | 9.83 | top 2.3% | 95 / 3,329 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 14.04 | 19.85 | top 6.2% | 62 / 529 | |
| 4×4 | 35.19 | 40.31 | top 6.9% | 74 / 667 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.26 | 7.94 | top 14.8% | 173 / 688 | |
| 5×5 | 1:20.33 | 1:27.51 | top 19.4% | 117 / 420 | |
| Megaminx | 1:31.51 | 1:45.68 | top 29.2% | 159 / 313 | |
| Skewb | 8.25 | 9.85 | top 43.2% | 204 / 338 | |
| 6×6 | 3:25.88 | 3:40.22 | top 53.1% | 129 / 209 | |
| 7×7 | 5:08.33 | 5:14.26 | top 53.2% | 111 / 188 | |
| Clock | 41.13 | — | early days — 2 solves | 258 / 263 |
Percentile against all competitors ever ranked in each event, a fairer measure than raw rank, because the pools differ by a factor of ten.
The line so far
Best single per competition, 3×3. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 3 Oct 2025Three personal bests in one day at Kuwaiti Nationals 2025.
- 13 Oct 2023Five personal bests in one day at Kuwaiti Nationals 2023.
- 21 May 2023Three personal bests in one day at Raha Open 2023.
- 16 Dec 2022Six personal bests in one day at Sunmarke Dubai Open 2022.
- 1 Oct 2022First sub-15 3×3: 10.93 at Al Jeel Open 2022.
- 1 Oct 2022First sub-10 3×3: 9.45 at Al Jeel Open 2022.
Competitions
- DIA EH Cube for Change Dubai B 2026 · 1 Feb 2026
- Kuwaiti Nationals 2025 · 3 Oct 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Tokai Summer 2025 · 27 Jul 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Kanto Spring 2025 · 31 May 2025
- Tokai Spring 2025 · 12 Apr 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Tokyo Open PM Winter 2025 · 16 Feb 2025
- Kuwaiti Nationals 2023 · 13 Oct 2023 — 5 personal bests set
- Raha Open 2023 · 21 May 2023 — 3 personal bests set
- Sunmarke Dubai Open 2022 · 16 Dec 2022 — 6 personal bests set
- Al Jeel Open 2022 · 1 Oct 2022 — 4 personal bests set
- Guildford Open 2020 · 18 Jan 2020 — 2 personal bests set
- August Bank Holiday Celebration 2019 · 24 Aug 2019
Reading this page: a single is one solve's time · an average is the middle three of five solves, best and worst discarded · a PB is a personal best · a DNF (did not finish) is an attempt with no valid result: a popped piece, an unsolved face, an over-limit memorisation · top X% compares against everyone ever ranked in that event, which is fairer than raw rank because event pools differ tenfold.
The circuit
The people whose scorecards keep turning up next to his.
- Ghanim Abdulaziz Almutawa — met in 25 rounds, finished ahead 18 times
- Hussain Merza — met in 23 rounds, finished ahead 19 times
- Ahmad Alolaimi — met in 23 rounds, finished ahead 8 times
Next targets
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.43 away.
- A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.72 away.
Targets move as he improves.